One voicethe voice that mattered mostwas silent as the generals met in Washington last week, to discuss Southeast Asian strategy (see above). After a brief illness and two operations (for prostate tumor), General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, 62, High Commissioner and Commander in Chief of French forces in Indo-China, was dead.
Gallant, flamboyant, brilliant, shrewd, unpredictable and seemingly fearless, Jean de Lattre was one of the ablest soldiers of his time and a patriot without qualification. In an increasingly cynical world, he took the words "honor" and "country" seriously. He would literally blanch at the suggestion that all Frenchmen...
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